NORTHFIELD, Vt.—The sixth-ranked Hobart College ice hockey team defeated 13th-ranked Norwich 2-0 in a New England College Hockey Conference contest at Kreitzberg Arena this afternoon. With the win, the Statesmen improved to 18-4-2 overall this season and 13-2-2 in conference play.
Hobart clinched its first NEHC regular-season crown and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Statesmen will be back in action next Saturday, Feb. 19, when they host a quarterfinal contest at 7 p.m. Hobart will face the lowest remaining seed from Wednesday’s first-round games.
Austin Mourar and Shane Shell scored the goals for Hobart. Liam Lascelle started in goal and stopped all 23 shots he faced as he notched his third shutout of the season.
Drennen Atherton played just under 59 minutes in goal for Norwich (12-5-5, 9-5-4) and made 29 saves.
Luke Aquaro nearly opened the scoring at the 3:23 mark of the first period. He broke into the offensive zone and fired a shot from the right faceoff circle off the goal post. Matthieu Wuth’s rebound attempt was blocked by Brendon Jones. At the 9:32 mark of the period, Scott Swanson had a scoring chance for Norwich stopped by Lascelle.
The Statesmen turned up the offensive zone pressure in the closing minutes of the first period. Mark Benemerito and Artem Buzoverya had shots smothered by Atherton. Hobart broke through at the 19:12 mark of the first period. Mourar followed up his own shot and jammed the puck home from behind the goal. His ninth goal of the season was assisted by PA Martineau and Christian Duvall.
Neither team found the back of the net in the second period, but Hobart hit a pair of goalposts in the frame. Buzoverya rang the iron at the 5:16 mark, and Gagik Malakyan nailed the post at the 13:05 mark. Philip Elgstam also hit a post for Norwich in the period.
In the third period, the Statesmen stymied the Cadets attack as they searched for the equalizer, outshooting Norwich 13-5 in the frame. Hobart sealed the game with an empty-net goal at the 18:59 mark of the third period. Shell’s second goal of the season was an unassisted tally.
The Statesmen finished the game with 31-23 edge in shots on goal. Both teams finished the game 0-for-2 on the power play.
